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In 2022, Science Europe made significant contributions in various areas, including research culture, research assessment, open science, EU framework programmes, the green and digital transition, and science communication.

Researchers, research services, and other community members at Research Funding and Performing Organisations play a key role in establishing recognition systems through the research assessment processes that they implement. These recognition systems strongly contribute to determining what is understood as research quality and excellence. Based on the Science Europe Values Framework (published in July 2022), this paper provides practical recommendations and good practice examples detailing how research organisations can continuously improve the way they assess research and researchers. The recommendations help to embed our shared values and contribute to the evolution of research cultures in Europe.

This Agreement sets a shared direction for changes in assessment practices for research, researchers, and research performing organisations, with the goal to maximise the quality and impact of research. It includes principles, commitments, and timeframes for reforms and lays out principles for a Coalition of organisations willing to work together in implementing the changes.

For Science Europe, 2021 was a very important year: the association celebrated its 10th year of existence. Founded in 2011, it has grown into a respected and influential voice in the European research policy debate. Moreover, we published a new Strategy Plan for 2021–2026, which maps our collective objectives and sets a specific yet flexible action framework over the next five years.

Science Europe launches a framework of shared values that serve as a guide to contribute to fostering a forward-looking research culture within the European Research Area, and globally.

The 2021 High Level Workshop on the European Research Area dealt with the topic of research culture and how to keep the research sector attractive for current and future generations of researchers.

The new statement on Research Culture envisages an ERA that focusses on the quality of research and its processes, supports scientific freedom, and promotes social diversity and inclusion, acknowledging that these conditions will, in turn, foster a productive research system.

The European Union’s research and innovation community urges the European Commission and UK Government to work towards a successful UK association to Horizon Europe as soon as possible.

The Science Europe Strategy Plan comes at a crucial time for European Research an Innovation (R&I) and includes an updated vision, mission, values, and set of strategic priorities for the association. It supports its Member Organisation in their mission to create world-class scientific knowledge, delivering more benefit for our societies.

The outbreak of a new type of Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) delayed the organisation and hosting of all GRC meetings in 2020. On 14 January 2021, Science Europe and the German Research Foundation (DFG) co-hosted the 2020 regional meeting for the European region on COVID-19.

The year 2020 saw a global pandemic attest to the value of science. In the race for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, Science Europe’s Member Organisations were at the forefront of the global response and our association became more relevant and important than ever.

This report explores the challenges facing research funding and performing organisations to design and manage balanced Research Infrastructure (RI) portfolios and design effective cross-border collaborations when setting up and running joint RIs. Discussions with a broad range of stakeholders took place at a dedicated workshop co-hosted by Science Foundation Ireland and the Health Research Board.

This Opinion Paper shows how arts and humanities research is at the heart of innovation processes. In this paper the Science Europe Scientific Committee for the Humanities advocates the need for a wider and deeper understanding of the concept of innovation, in order to better prepare Europe to tackle global challenges. The Committee points out ways to achieve stronger European leadership through the promotion of radical innovation by highlighting the contribution of arts and humanities research.

This report analyses the underlying preconditions and efficiency of Lead Agency Procedure (LAP), based on the evidence available from the many LAP partnerships among Science Europe’s members. It also contains policy recommendations for research organisations so that they gain a more accurate understanding of the Lead Agency principles and are made more able to judge on its scope and limitations.

In this paper produced by the Scientific Committee for the Life, Environmental and Geo Sciences, the Committee argues that in order to strengthen international collaborative research, the national research funding organisations should consider increasing their efforts to widen the participation of various European countries and global partners in multilateral schemes, whilst fostering interdisciplinarity and knowledge integration. Moreover, a bottom-up approach should be adopted in order to collect research proposals that contain novel ideas and solutions, captured directly from the research community and users, thus enabling open innovation.

In a globalised research ecosystem, collaboration is key. This collaboration also brings challenges linked to the diversity of scientific and legal environments. The aim of this practical guide is to provide better and more efficient means for research organisations to apply a set of optional models for cross-border collaboration and to help them achieve more successful and easier implementation.

The Roadmap, approved by the Science Europe General Assembly in November 2013, is Science Europe’s action plan to contribute to the elements of a successful research system. It acts as a framework for voluntary collective activity, providing a long-term strategy for the association. The ‘Priority Action Areas’ are those in which Science Europe members believe that there is a potential to achieve tangible and substantive progress, and where they can add real value by working together.